


Been a While

by delighted



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 15:30:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: The boys finally get some time together. Maybe being kept apart was just what they needed, to realize what they really wanted.





	Been a While

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a while since I posted, and longer since I’d written. Break's over! I guess my writing got a little... pent up... and this is what happened..... Hope you enjoy. :-)

It had been a while since they’d had some time together, just the two of them. There’d been lots of events the whole team’d had to attend—why was it always those things came in clusters so that by the last one you were so utterly done with work related events you wanted to hide under a rock for a month? And before that Danny’d been more than usually busy with the kids. And Steve had been sick. Damn summer colds always hit harder than winter ones for some reason, and maybe his immune system wasn’t what it used to be. Maybe he hadn’t been taking good enough care of himself. And maybe, just maybe, he might have admitted that was the tiniest bit because Danny’d been... he didn’t want to say “neglecting” him, because that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t like Steve was somehow Danny’s responsibility or something, after all, but Danny had looked out for Steve more than previously, after the whole gave-you-my-liver thing, and maybe Steve had gotten used to that. Maybe he’d gotten a little _too_ used to it. So maybe he missed it when it stopped.

Not that Steve had moped about that while he’d been sick. Not that he blamed Danny for his cold lasting twice as long as his colds normally did. Not that he’d felt upset that Danny hadn’t come and brought him soup. Nope. He hadn’t. Swear. And that hadn’t been why the cold had lingered. No.

Besides, Kono had checked in on him, Kamekona had brought him soup. Very garlicky soup.

So, he had no reason to complain. Really.

Regardless, he was better now, and he and Danny had made plans to do something together on Saturday.

Finally.

“So, buddy,” Steve handed Danny a beer as he sidled up to the lanai where Steve was sitting, cooler full of beers, grill prepped and ready—the fridge was stocked with burgers, there was ice cream in the freezer. “What shall we do this fine day?”

Danny accepted the beer with an odd expression that sent a quiver of anticipation—of what, he didn’t know—through Steve’s body. He didn’t respond, but made some awkward faces while he drank, as though he were thinking about Steve’s question. Pulling out one of the chairs (the one closest to Steve, much to his delight), Danny thumped into it heavily, tossing his feet out in front of him, his flip flops flying off as he did so.

Steve watched Danny; followed those blue eyes as they turned and saw the paddle board leaning against the edge of the lanai. Nodding towards it: “Take me out on that.”

The corner of Steve’s grin quirked upward towards smirkdom as he felt a glow spread across his skin that had nothing to do with his love of paddle boarding and everything to do with his obsession with watching Danny become less the uptight Jersey boy he still tried so hard to be and more the relaxed island guy Steve knew lurked within.

“Sure thing buddy. Eat before or after?”

“After.” Danny’s reply was muffled as he was pulling his (thrillingly tight) tee shirt off over his head. He finished his beer, looked over at Steve as if to say _well, what are you waiting for_ , and grabbing one of the two paddles, headed—walking as heavily as he’d sat down—towards the water.

Jumping up eagerly to follow, nearly throwing his own beer on the floor as he went, Steve picked up the board and the other paddle, and walked a little more slowly, taking his time to enjoy the view as he went. He didn’t want to know what it said about him that he had missed this side of Danny. The slightly gruff, almost angry, sparing with his use of words (okay, maybe that was a bit of a giveaway) version of Danny. There was this tense, taut, ready-to-burst quality to Danny when he was like this. And Steve (who, please remember, loves explosions) had become, over the years, a little addicted to the experience.

Danny had turned and was giving Steve an ugly glare, and Steve couldn’t help it, he really couldn’t, but it made him walk slower. He’d expected an eye roll, maybe a complaint, but Danny closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his body visibly slumped. _Well, that was a new one_ , Steve thought to himself as he tossed the board on the sand and paused to take his own shirt off before following Danny into the water.

Neither of them spoke, and they’d done this enough that they didn’t really need to, they just followed their usual route—slightly out, then along the shore to the east—away from the populated areas of beach, not towards it. Once they reached the most secluded area, Danny pulled his paddle out of the water and sat carefully down, bringing it to rest next to him and gesturing for Steve to do the same.

Steve’s never-very-latent SEAL senses sparked into high alert as he complied. This was new as well, and he didn’t have a clue what it meant. Careful not to unbalance the board, he left a comfortable space between them, but Danny didn’t seem to like that, as he sighed heavily and scooted closer, till they were touching knees.

When Danny still didn’t speak, Steve took a breath and started to ask “What’s up, buddy?” but he never made it past the first syllable, because Danny had leaned even further forward and kissed him. Fortunately, Steve had taken a good breath, because it felt like a really long time before Danny let him go—but as soon as he had, Steve wished like hell he hadn’t.

“What—” he started to ask, but Danny lunged even closer and yanked Steve roughly into a kiss even more intense, and he was grateful for his advanced breathing techniques, though to be honest he’d never needed them for kisses before, and that was a crazy feeling.

This time, when Danny let him go, Steve grabbed hold of Danny’s hands and tried to keep him still. How completely weird was it that Steve was the one with the burning need to talk about what was happening, for like the first time ever. “Hey,” he said softly, and okay, breathlessly—he was still recovering from feeling like Danny’d been trying to suck the air out of his lungs. “So, that was nice. What did I do to deserve that?”

It obviously hadn’t been the reaction Danny’d anticipated, and he snorted an ungraceful laugh. “Deserve? Shit. What _haven’t_ you done.”

“And that means what, precisely?”

Danny struggled against Steve’s grip on his hands, clearly wanting to kiss again rather than talk about it.

“I’m more than happy to keep kissing you, but I think an explanation might be kind of nice.”

Another snorted laugh, this one even more violent than the last. “You want to talk.”

“Yeah... I think it might be wise.”

“Oh, _wise_? Fuck wise. Fuck everything, Steven,” and he broke Steve’s hold on him and somehow managed to push him back on the board, pressing into him with more force than Steve would have imagined possible. And maybe it was his reclined position and the change in blood flow or something because suddenly thinking and talking both seemed like really bad ideas, and kissing seemed like the best thing... until Danny took it even further, and managed to get his hand between their bodies and into Steve’s trunks, and _Jesus fuck_ that felt good. He couldn’t possibly have got a hand where he really wanted it because of how hard Danny was pressing against him, but he did the next best thing and grabbed the only thing he could—that ridiculously tight ass, which was just where it should be, right beneath his hands. Shit, there was no way this was going to last long, and it couldn’t have been very long after that thought that he was proved right, as he felt Danny convulse against him, moaning into his mouth as Steve very nearly bit his tongue on his own grunted release.

“That was...” Steve panted eventually, as Danny pulled his hand out, and pushed up slightly on his arms, allowing Steve a little room to breathe. “That was...” his laugh was slightly embarrassed. “It’s been a while....” He said, by way of explanation for his lack of endurance.

Danny’s lips pressed together in a surprisingly sweet smile, and he leaned down for a kiss. Wrapping his arms around his partner again, this time further up, Steve rolled them off the board and into the water, and he was elated when Danny laughed—genuinely, playfully, lightheartedly, laughed—and then wrapping his own arms around Steve, pulled him in for a closer kiss. “Yeah, it’s been a while,” he whispered, when he pulled back just enough to look into Steve’s eyes.

Steve kept one arm around Danny, and used the other to hold on to the board. The paddles were floating nearby, and he knew he should retrieve them, but he didn’t want to let go of Danny just yet. “I’ve missed you.”

A faraway look flashed through Danny’s eyes, and his eyebrows rose in that adorable-yet-pained expression he was such an expert at. “We’ve been together almost every day for the past two weeks,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but we haven’t been _alone_ in... two months? Nearly?”

Danny kissed him. “Uh, babe. We’ve never been ‘alone’ quite like _this_ before.”

“No,” Steve allowed. “Although I’m having a really hard time understanding that right now,” and that seemed like the time to urge Danny back on the board while he collected the paddles before they floated too far out of reach.

Once they were both back up on the board, sitting like they had before, with knees touching and feet dangling in the water, Steve returned to his point.

“So, why haven’t we?” He pressed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Danny looked down, brushing his feet against Steve's legs in the water, then looked back up. “It’s been too easy not to, I guess? This past week just did me in for some reason. All those damned official gatherings with too many people I just don’t care about, being forced to perform that public perception of what Five-0 is... I think it broke through some... barrier... or something... in terms of what it really is, what it really means to me....” He’d made it that far, now couldn’t seem to finish the thought.

But Steve knew what he was trying to say. “Yeah, me too,” he managed, drawing Danny in for another kiss.

They floated for a while, Steve keeping one eye on the land, allowing them to drift. They kissed some more, and sat gazing at each other, but didn’t talk. Until for some reason Steve felt he should confess that he’d been upset that Danny hadn’t bossed him around when he’d been sick.

Danny closed his eyes, covered his mouth with his hand, and sat perfectly still for a good minute. When he opened his eyes, Steve felt it right in the groin, and fuck that was fast.

“Yeah. I uh... I didn’t really trust myself at that point... um.” His lips pressed together, he swallowed, which didn’t really help things in terms of Steve’s own trusting of himself—the board had been great as far as quick, desperate releases go, but he needed a bed for what he really wanted to do. Danny seemed to read Steve’s thoughts: “ _Exactly_.”  

“I would have been okay with that.” Pointing out the obvious, really, but he felt it needed to be said.

“I suppose it might have helped your cold, they say it can....” Danny trailed off, maybe regretting missed opportunities, and Steve decided it was time to head back to land.

“You’ll have to remember that for next time I’m sick.” Steve kissed him one more time before standing up and steering them home. It took longer than usual because Danny insisted on standing behind Steve and rubbing his chest while he tried to paddle. Not that Steve minded too much.

The restraint they’d managed while on the water seemed to evaporate nearly instantly when they got back on land, and they only made it up to the lawn (dragging the board with them up past the sand) before they fell on each other, in the shade of the trees, shivering slightly at the change of temperature, but warming each other up in no time.

Stopping before things got too far, they had a quick shower just to get the worst of the salt and grass off before tumbling into bed, and things seemed to play in slow motion as the presence of sheets and pillows, and the softness of the mattress in contrast to the hard ground or paddle board made them draw out their attentions, lengthen their actions, turn frantic can’t-get-enough kisses into lazy, lingering, explorations. Their confessions about how long it had been applied to other key areas as well, and they agreed to hold off for the time being, until they could find some stamina.

“Can we please, though, never let it be that long again,” Steve said, after they’d found the relief on the board hadn’t made a dent their lack of endurance. “Not being alone together, I mean.” He brushed the hair back from Danny’s face, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. “Completely aside from this,” he trailed his fingers down Danny’s body, coming to rest on that lovely ass once more. “Completely aside from all of this, it’s just not okay with me to not spend time alone with you. It’s just... not.”

After purring at the contact, and pushing himself back into Steve’s willing hand, Danny paused to let some of his usual snark out: “Eloquently put as always, babe,” before allowing his less sarcastic and much more appreciative tones to resume.

Eventually they realized they were starving, and they discovered that Steve didn’t burn the burgers even if Danny was doing all he could to distract him from behind. He decided it was too bad he couldn’t always grill with Danny pressing up against him, hands holding his chest like he was afraid Steve would vanish if he let go. Especially as Steve found that being able to turn in Danny’s arms and demand a kiss any time he liked (and he liked, _a lot_ ) made the food taste much better.

“I had no idea,” Steve said between mouthfuls of the best burger he’d tasted since Maui, “that kisses made food taste so good.”

“Maybe that’s some super chef secret,” Danny replied, offering Steve a napkin.

“I wonder if it works on your Grandma’s Italian food....” Steve suddenly couldn’t think of a better way to spend Sunday. Every Sunday.

Danny caught the heat in Steve’s eyes. “Only one way to find out, babe.” And he slid his feet up on to Steve’s lap, as he leaned back in his chair, finishing his beer and holding his hand out to be given another.

“All weekends should be like this, Danny,” Steve said softly as he opened the beer before pressing it into Danny’s hand as though it meant a lot more than just a beer.

He drew a sharp breath at the touch of the cold, hard glass. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Unfortunately not likely. But yeah.”

Steve let his fingers come to rest on Danny’s feet, rubbing his toes lightly, finding himself drawn inward, processing the day just a little. It seemed like a lot—and all of a sudden—but he knew they’d been teetering on the edge of it for so long, it had merely been a question of when they would fall into it. There might have been ways they could have fallen a little more gently, or slowly, and maybe that would have been better, less likely to cause the inevitable panic about what the hell they were getting themselves in for. It almost seemed odd that he wasn’t regretting the way they’d finally given in. But that same warm, spreading feeling filled his veins as he realized that _of course_ falling hard was how they’d finally done it. Of course with them. The sudden, the nearly violent, the leaping without looking. It really just fit, didn’t it.

He’d closed his eyes as he’d drifted off into thought, but opened them when he felt Danny’s feet squirm in his lap. Danny was watching him, blue eyes hard in the light of the darkening sky. “Penny for them,” he offered, as Steve lifted Danny’s feet down and moved closer for a kiss.

“I was just thinking that us falling hard into this was inevitable.”

Danny seemed to let the words sink into his skin, then he rose and took Steve with him. “It’s because we fought it, of course. Like we fight everything else. But for now...” he squeezed Steve’s hand so hard it hurt. “Just for now, I’m done fighting.”


End file.
